Most Dangerous Female Sport.....Cheerleading

On Friday May 14, 2010 I boarded the first Southwest Airlines flight of the day leaving Oakland for Los Angeles. Choosing the seat on the opposite side of the aisle was a familiar looking gentleman dressed in a crisp white shirt with cuff links. As we were pulling away from the gate, I finished reading a recent Daily Cal. The gentleman asked if he could check out the paper. Then it hit me.....As I turned to hand him the paper, I stated, "You're that guy." As he took paper he replied, "I Am that guy.".............It was Captain Chesley Sullenberger of Hudson River landing fame.

I arrived at the Sports Concussion Institute's Forth Annual National Summit on Concussions and Other Sports Medicine Injuries. Again, I was the only dentist present.
The morning program consisted of the following:
Emerging Clinical Solutions for Sports Concussion presented by Jeffrey Kutcher, MD
Assessment and Management of Battlefield-Induced Concussion:
Applications for Sports Concussion presented by David F. Moore, MD, PhD, Dip PH
Guidelines for On-Field Management of Orthopedic Injuries in Youth presented by Neal S. ElAttrache, MD
An NCAA Update on the Biomechanics of Sports-Induced Concussion:
Implications for Long-Term Outcomes presented by Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC
Keynote Address: Preparing Youth for High-Velocity Sports:
The Significance of Nutrition and Hydration presented by Mehmood Khan, MD

The afternoon session was broken up into four concurrent tracks:
Track A: Evaluation and Treatment of Orthopedic Sports Injuries presenters were Warren Strudwick, MD, Ryan H. Kotton, MD, Larry Lemak, MD, Vernon Williams, MD
Track B: Advancing Health and Safety Outcomes Among Youth and High School Athlete Populations presenters were Gerry Gioia, PhD, Andrew Blecher, MD, Charles Flippen, MD, Barry Jordan, MD, MPH
Track C: Methods of Evaluating Concussion Outcomes Among Athlete Populations presenters were Mark Lovell, PhD, Jeffrey English, MD, Michael McCrea, PhD, Stephen Bailey, PT, PhD
Track D: Advancing Health and Safety Outcomes in Historically Female Sports presenters were Fred Mueller, PhD and Kimberly Archie, BS, Sonia Bell, MD, Anthony Alessi, MD, Terry Zeigler, EdD, ATC

I have heard Mark Lovell speak many times and am pretty well versed on his computerized neuropsychological concussion assessment software, ImPACT.
Since I am the father of a very active 4 year old daughter, I elected to take Track D: Advancing Health and Safety Outcomes in Historically Female Sports. I learned a startling fact, Cheerleading is the most dangerous female sport. Between 1982 and 2008 there were 73 catastrophic injuries in cheerleading, including two deaths. An injury is deemed catastrophic if it causes permanent spinal injury and paralysis. In the same time period, there were only nine catastrophic injuries in gymnastics, four in basketball and two in soccer.

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEAR WOMEN"S BASKETBALL TEAM 2010 WNIT CHAMPIONS

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

Savvy, the Unofficial Golden Retriever of the California Golden Bears: 1-15-99 to 2-15-10

From her Rockridge home on Monday February 15, 2010, Savvy set off for Rainbow Bridge with the grateful help of Dr Anthony Smith.

She brought smiles to all that met her

Upon hearing of the sad news, our good friend Richard Shoemaker shared with us a special writing that helped him through his similar experiences which we too would like to share.

The following is borrowed and paraphrased from Eugene O'Neill's "Last Will and Testament of "Silverdene Emblem O'Neill", 1940.


"LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF SAUVIGNON JOHNSON"


I, Sauvignon Johnson, (familiarly known to my family, friends and acquaintances as Savvy) because the burden of my years and infirmities is heavy upon me, and I realize the end of my life is near, do hereby bury my last will and testament in the mind of my Guardians, Beth, Whitney and Savannah. They will not know it is there until after I am dead. Then, remembering me in their loneliness, they will suddenly know of this testament, and I ask them then to inscribe it as a memorial to me.

I have little in the way of material things to leave. Dogs are wiser than men. They do not set great store upon things. They do not waste their days hoarding property. They do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to keep the objects they have, and to obtain the objects they have not.

There is nothing of value I have to bequeath except my love and my faith. These I leave to all those who have loved me, to Beth, Whitney and Savannah, whom I know will mourn me most, to Cabby, Millie, Hunt and Mary who have been so good to me, to the staff of Every Dog Has It's Day Care, Dr Teri McGinnis and all at Albany VCA, Pauli and - But if I should list all those who have loved me it would force my Guardians to write a book.

Perhaps it is vain of me to boast when I am so near death, which returns all beasts and vanities to dust, but I have always been an extremely lovable dog.

I ask my Guardians to remember me always, but not to grieve for me too long. In my life I have tried to be a comfort to them in time of sorrow and a reason for added joy in their happiness. It is painful for me to think that even in death I should cause them pain.

Let them remember that while no dog has ever had a happier life, (and this I owe to their love and care for me) now that I have become weak from the cancer that we thought I had dodged and the arthritis that developed over the years, I no longer have the energy to go on.

It is time I said goodbye, before I become too sick a burden on myself and on those who love me. It will be sorrow to leave them, but not a sorrow to die.

Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it as part of life, not as something alien and terrible which destroys life. What may come after death, who knows?

I would like to believe with those of my fellow Golden Retrievers who are devout optimists, that there is a Paradise where one is always young and full-bladdered, where all the day one dillies and dallies with a playful multitude of hounds, beautifully combed; where squirrels that run fast and lakes that are cool and prestine; where each blissful hour is a mealtime; where in long evenings there are a million fireplaces with logs forever burning, and one curls oneself up and blinks into the flames and nods and dreams, Guardians.

I am afraid this is too much for even such a dog as I am to expect. But peace, at least, is certain. Peace and long rest for weary old heart and head and limbs, and eternal sleep in the earth I have loved so well. Perhaps, after all, this is best.

One last request I earnestly make to others that may read this. I have heard others say, "When my dog dies I must never have another dog. I love her so much I could never love another one." Now I would ask them, for love of their dog, to have another.

It would be a poor tribute to our memories never to have a dog again. What I would like to feel is that, having once had a dog in the family, now one cannot live without a dog!

I have never had a narrow jealous spirit. I have always held that most dogs are good, (and one cat, Jack, the tabby I had permitted to share the living room rug during the evenings, whose affection I had tolerated in a kindly spirit, and in rare sentimental moods, even reciprocated a trifle).

Some dogs, of course, are better than others. Golden Retrievers, naturally, as everyone knows, are best. So I am pleased Cabby is my successor. He can hardly be as well bred or well mannered or as distinguished and handsome as I was in my prime. My Guardians must not ask the impossible. But he will do his best, I am sure, and even his inevitable defects will help by comparison to keep my memory green.

To him I bequeath my floating Kong, my Cal bandana and jersey, purchased in 2002 at the ASUC book store (I wish him better luck in his anticipation of a Golden Bear Rose Bowl appearance and victory). He can never wear them with the distinction I did, walking around the Cal campus, the streets of Berkeley, and the trails of the East Bay Regional Parks (my favorite, of course being Tilden with its Lake Anza and Steam Train) all eyes fixed on me, in admiration; but again I am sure he will do his utmost not to appear a mere gauche provincial dog.

Here at home, he may prove himself quite worthy of comparison, in some respects. He will, I presume, come closer to squirrels than I have been able in recent years. And, for all his faults, I hereby wish him the happiness I know will be his in my old home.

One last word of farewell, Dear Whitney, Beth and Savannah. Whenever you visit the place of my ashes, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: "Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved."

No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of Death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.